


the fall from grace

by mishkinat



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Hurt Gabriel (Supernatural), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 17:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14549793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mishkinat/pseuds/mishkinat
Summary: The night of Gabriel's return from the hands of Asmodeus. Recovery is hard, but things can get better with the help of family.





	the fall from grace

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is basically what would happen if i could write it. i largely love what they did on the show, but i needed more happiness for gabriel. he deserves better and i love him. in this space, chuck loves gabriel. i for one like cheesy comfort with my hurt.

The way Gabriel sat in the dark corner, huddled in on himself and cowering made Sam Winchester's heart drop in his chest and his own personal traumas and tragedies seemed to burn fresher in his mind. That only made him want to help the broken archangel more. It had been hard to watch Gabriel squirm uncomfortably in his chair whilst his eyes darted as Sam cut the stitches from his lips. Sam watched now as the angel sat in the corner trying to ignore everything around him, occasionally running a tentative finger over where his lips were once sealed. Although he was still not talking, Sam was at the very least glad that Gabriel was somewhat responsive to him and no longer staring at him with a chilling deep-rooted fear before quickly cutting off eye contact. Even Dean, who had always had much less patience for Gabriel had recoiled at the brutality he had endured and had headed out straight away with Castiel to find anything that may help his recovery. 

"Hey, Gabriel." Sam crouched beside him as lightly as he could which didn't do much as no matter how much he tried to bring himself down to Gabriel's level he was big and imposing. He tried hard to not be so imposing and spoke gentle and soft. He reached out a hand to him, but bit his lip as Gabriel pulled away as if to protect himself or bracing himself for a hit. Sam tried to shake off the twist in his stomach that arose at the thought of him causing more anxiety and pain. "It's okay. It's okay, Gabriel, really. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just, I think it'd be best if we tried to clean you up a bit. It might make you feel a bit better, help bring you back from that place." Gabriel was still tense, but looked up to meet Sam and gave the slightest of nods. Sam gave a quick smile, it was only a small victory, and helped to sit Gabriel on the edge of the bed. Even the slight creak of the wood made him flinch and small pained gasps escaped from him when Sam stepped forward a bit too quickly but Sam could see in Gabriel's eyes that the angel was trying his best to come back to reality and to bring his head above the waves. 

 

  
"I'm not going to hurt you Gabriel. Promise." Sam felt the need to reassure him, even though he was also sure that Gabriel's reactions were more instinct and reflex rather than fear of Sam. Sam grabbed the washcloth from the sink and dipped it in warm water before crouching down before Gabriel and showing him it before slowly moving it to his face. "This will help." Gabriel's face was streaked in dirt and blood. As he gently wiped the dirt away, it became harder to tell the difference between the dirt and the bruises. Occasionally small whines from Gabriel would alert Sam that he was pressing too hard and he would stop immediately and apologise. Each time it became harder to hear. The deep cut over his face was more painful than Gabriel let out, Sam could tell. One particularly loud gasp resulted in Gabriel lurching forward and clinging to Sam's sleeve. "I'm sorry. Nearly done." He took a short rest and then returned to the task; it had to be done. As the dirt faded away the cuts on his face shone brighter and uglier and Sam found himself feeling guilty at struggling to look at it for long. As he wiped away the last flecks of dirt from his face, he felt Gabriel press into his hand more which caused both of them to ease off and Sam's stomach to relax. Trust was returning. 

"How do you feel, Gabe?" Sam set aside the cloth and tried to catch Gabriel's eyes. "Please talk to me." He pleaded. Nothing. "Dean and your brother will be back soon, I'm sure we can get you out of those rags soon." Sam continued, getting no response. Sam rose up slowly and sat beside Gabriel on the bed. Gabriel didn't flinch or panic, but he did freeze up. Sam wasn't sure what to make of it. "You look tired. It might help your grace to try and get some sleep." No matter how much it irritated Sam that there was not one word from Gabriel, he understood it. If this was how Gabriel felt safe then he would respect that. Gabriel turned to face Sam and nodded. 

"Okay good, I'll be right in the kitchen or my room if you need anything in the night. Don't feel like you can't get me, no matter what. We all just want to see you better."

 

Gabriel curled up on the bed, not bothering with blankets for warmth. Sam felt so much pity and hated himself for it, remembering back to times when he hated how much pity people had shown him. 

"Thank you, Sam. I'm sorry." It was the quietest and hoarsest of voices, almost as if Sam had imagined it but it was unmistakably Gabriel's. Sam whipped around quickly, 

"What do you mean?" But Gabriel's eyes were closed and he did not utter another word.

 

In the kitchen, Dean and Castiel sat looking dejected. They were both very unsure with the situation and their feelings towards the issue at hand. Castiel had loved his brother dearly and always would. Seeing him in this condition had shattered him and brought back memories and feelings he had presumed long gone. Yet as strong as he loved his brother, he had also been greatly disappointed in his antics and pursuits. He knew Gabriel had more potential to do good that had seemingly gone to waste. But he didn't deserve this. He had wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his brother again, after all these long hard years. Yet now that the time had come he had no idea what to say and had only appeared to make Gabriel more uncomfortable. He was impressed with Sam's natural ability to care for Gabriel, and they didn't have the same deep brotherly connection as he had with Gabriel. He wanted to make things right for Gabriel but he did not know where to start, and this recovery as with any would not be easy and Castiel was not sure he was capable of helping. For him, the worst part was that he could not tell his feelings to Dean. Dean. This was not one situation where they would see eye to eye.

"I don't know why we are bothering with all this, Cas." Dean was blunt. "I mean, I get it. The dude has been through hell and I do feel bad for him. But he's not our problem. We've got a million other problems, more imminent than this. And that's not forgetting all the crap he pulled on me and Sam."

Castiel shifted uncomfortably in his seat and frowned. Dean noticed this and raised an eyebrow, "Come on. What do you disagree about?" 

Castiel sighed and tried to speak but couldn't find the words that wouldn't make either him or Dean incredibly angry. He had learned not to be so forceful with Dean. 

"Come on, Cas. If you can change my mind, please do. I don't wanna be on a different page than you and Sam again." 

"Dean. He's my  _brother_." There were so many things Castiel only just managed to prevent adding to that,  _you would tear this universe apart for Sam_ being one of them. He couldn't say that though, he did not want to make Dean feel like he was turning on him. 

"Okay, you know I get that. I do get that. I get that it's not going to be easy for you either. But-" Dean cut himself off. Castiel was right. Of course he was. Dean didn't have to like Gabriel. But he had to respect that the angel was hurting like hell and it would be cruel to reschedule helping him. "How can I help?" Dean tried to sound sincere. 

"Thank you, Dean. We will all work this out together. I know he can do this. But I think we can get some extra help." He took a breath. "From Chuck." And with that, Castiel left the kitchen, leaving Dean with whatever denials, doubts and scorns he had to himself. 

 

 

During the night, Dean was awoken to repeated short bursts of noise. At first he wasn't sure what it was and quickly fell back asleep. But not long after, the sound startled him awake and he followed the source of the noise. By the time he was halfway down the corridor, he realised what was happening. Gabriel was having a nightmare. There was a period of bursts of moans and pants followed by slow whines that hurt to hear. Dean slowly entered the room to find the angel's sleeping face pained and covered in sweat. Dean drew a short sigh. He moved over to the edge of the bed and reached over to his shoulder, knowing to wake him as gently as possible.  
"Hey man, it's okay. Just a nightmare. You're not there anymore."  
Gabriel awoke with a yelp that echoed throughout the bunker. He shot straight up, breathing heavily.   
"Oh, Dean." He gasped, holding a hand to his forehead and trying to steady himself. Gabriel felt like he was going to be sick. Dean settled a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him but neither had the words to express their feelings. The silence that followed was painful. 

"Dean I'm sorry." Gabriel gasped in between breaths, not daring to look him the face. "For everything. Everything I did to you and Sam and Cas, hell to pretty much everyone. I-" He struggled to breathe.

Dean knew what Gabriel was experiencing well. "It's okay, man. Breathe. Focus on this. Come on." He placed a hand on each of Gabriel's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. Dean wasn't expecting an apology and wasn't quite sure how to take it. He appreciated it for sure. It was a lot more than any of the other archangels, or hell, even Chuck would do.  

From inside the bunker, a crash of footsteps grew louder. This immediately stirred a wild panic within Gabriel who retreated in on himself and whined in fear. Dean reached a hand out to him, whilst he pulled a gun out with his other. 

"Dean! Sam!" Castiel cried, "It's okay. It worked. He heard." Sam clambered into Gabriel's room first, whirling around to see Castiel getting dragged by the wrist by Chuck.

Chuck did not want to answer the many burning questions he knew Sam and Dean had. Everyone was too stunned for words and Chuck was glad of it. All he saw was his son. He couldn't believe Gabriel was there before him. 

"Gabriel I thought you were-" Chuck was cut off by his son wrapping his arms around him and sobbing into his chest. Immediately at this embrace, Chuck healed the physical wounds. To Castiel and Sam and Dean Winchester, this sight was so far removed from the witty, charming yet unbelievably irritating trickster archangel that it was almost unbelievable. Yet to Chuck, this was his youngest archangel son, the image of the young fledgling Gabriel needing love and attention forever etched into his mind. He was his son, and he was here for him. They would all go forward in this together.


End file.
